Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Beaver Marsh and Everett Covered Bridge
We vacationed for a week in Ohio.
We departed home on Thursday, April 20th, shortly after 8:00 am, en route Hudson OH. Shortly before 9:00 am we stopped at Mel’s Hometown Restaurant in Corry PA. We were back on the road again at 9:30 am, after a hearty breakfast. We arrived at Cuyahoga Valley National Park at approximately 12:30 pm.
Our first stop at Cuyahoga Valley National Park was at the Beaver Marsh. We parked at the Ira Trailhead and followed the short connecting path to the Towpath Trail and turned left. We headed north for 0.25 miles to reach the boardwalk. Shortly before reaching the boardwalk I discovered that I forgot to insert a memory card into my camera. I had my iPhone camera with me. The wildlife at Beaver Marsh is best photographed with a regular camera, preferably with a telescopic lens. For the most part I limited my photography to the landscape rather than to the wildlife.
These four turtles were close enough to photograph with my iPhone camera.
I turned around at the boardwalk and walked back to the Ira Trailhead.
Lock 26 is one of 44 locks that allowed boats on the Ohio & Erie Canal to stair-step up from Lake Erie to the Portage Summit in Akron. According to a marker at Lock 26, Charles and Susan Carter lived near Lock 26. Charles served as a canal boat captain and locktender. The family raised corn and hay on their 56-acre farm to feed their dairy cows. A short walk would take them to the former community of Ira, located near today’s Ira and Riverview roads. Though the community did not have any stores, taverns, or churches, it was a distribution point for dairy products. The Carters and other local farmers brought milk to the Hawkins Cheese Factory for processing. It was one of many in the region, which became known as ‘Cheesedom.’ From the community’s railroad depot, farmers shipped their cheese and fresh milk to urban areas.
As I was walking back to the trailhead, Bob continued walking north another 1 1/4 miles to Szalay’s Farm & Market. I drove from the Ira Trailhead to Szalay’s, where I picked up Bob.
Our second stop in Cuyahoga Valley National Park was at Everett Covered Bridge. It was a short walk from the trailhead to the bridge.
Here is one last picture of the covered bridge, before we walked back to the trailhead.
We checked in Airbnb “Wildlife and Serenity in Hudson, Ohio” by 2:30 pm. Our hosts allowed for an earlier than 4:00 pm check in. We unpacked the car, settled into the Airbnb and relaxed.
We ate dinner at Fishers Cafe in Peninsula. We each ordered NY Strip Steak dinners that included 10 oz steaks, choice of potato and a salad. Dinner was delicious and filling. We each brought back to the Airbnb about half our steak.
Please stay tuned, as I have much more to share with you about our week-long vacation in Ohio!
The Beauty Around Us 
4 Responses to “Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Beaver Marsh and Everett Covered Bridge”
Love the Covered Bridge. You look great, Linda.
Thank you Betsy.
You got your vacation off to a great start at Cuyahoga Valley. We really should get back there sometime.
It looks like your week-long getaway got off to a good start, Linda. When I had not seen a recent post, I suspected that you and Bob were on another road trip. I look forward to reading about the rest of your trip.